The Chesapeake Bay Trust and Groupon Grassroots (http://grassroots.groupon.com), the philanthropic arm of Groupon, announce the launch of a campaign to help clean-up local communities by removing more than 2,000 pounds of trash from streams and waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The Restore Our Waters campaign will be available on the Washington, DC Groupon Grassroots page beginning on Monday, April 16 and running through Sunday, April 22. Utilizing Groupon Grassroots’ collective action model, Groupon subscribers can pledge support for the Restore Our Waters initiative in increments of $10, with each $10 donation providing the support needed to help the Chesapeake Bay Trust advance community clean-up projects and other trash removal and restoration initiatives.

With Earth Day fast approaching, the uphill battle to restore the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding rivers and streams will be brought to the forefront, with many concerned citizens wondering how they can help. Support for the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Restore Our Waters campaign will help fund numerous trash removal projects that will engage thousands of students, teachers and communities in efforts to clean-up their local environments.

“We look forward to creating new awareness for the Chesapeake Bay Trust as one of the local organizations in Maryland to be featured on Groupon Grassroots,” said Dr. Jana Davis, interim executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. “Through this partnership with the Groupon Grassroots initiative, we are excited to engage a broader audience and raise much needed funding to help an issue so many of us care deeply about—restoring local waterways for future generations.”

100% percent of the Groupon Grassroots campaign proceeds will be used to provide funding for on-the-ground community clean-up efforts, trash removal projects and restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
In 2011, funded mostly through the purchase of the Maryland’s Treasure the Chesapeake license plate program, the Chesapeake Bay Trust awarded 330 grants totaling $5.2 million throughout the Chesapeake Bay region. These projects and programs helped restore Maryland’s shorelines, educate schoolchildren about the environment, green area neighborhoods and clean-up local rivers and streams. In total more than 110,000 Maryland students, teachers and volunteers participate in Trust-funded programs each year that are having a measureable impact on improving the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. Find out more at www.cbtrust.org.